Don't Bother Honking

An SUV after it was struck by Caltrain in Menlo Park
(NBC Bay Area photo)

Caltrain express trains achieve a top speed of 70+ miles per hour, creating a long-running Peninsula traffic hazard that won't be completely solved for decades.

The tracks go through the heart of cities like San Mateo, Burlingame, and Palo Alto.

Surface roads intersect tracks at dozens of locations, where old-fashioned railway crossing gates supervise auto traffic.

Projects ("grade separation") to construct train overpasses have recently cost $126 million to $155 million.

It's a popular misconception that accidents occur because impatient drivers try to "beat the train." Some crossing roads are so congested that it's possible to be trapped on the tracks, between cars, when the crossing gates go down. Such a situation killed an Indiana visitor in 2011 and resulted in another fatality this week in Menlo Park.

The grade separations won't be completed until the 2030's. Meanwhile, I plan to drive very conservatively at railroad crossings. Sorry about that if you're behind me, and don't bother honking.